These are just of few of the things I have pinned on my boards on a Social Media phenomenon called

Pinterest.

And Pinterest is the topic of this week's sibling assignment given by brother Bill:

Write a piece about Pinterest. What do you value about Pinterest? How has it made a difference in your life? Can you tell a story about a particular thing you did at a particular time that went really well because you are a part of Pinterest? On the flip side, is there anything about Pinterest that disappoints you?

I was leary of becoming a part of Pinterest. I had heard stories of friends getting "lost" on Pinterest, spending hours of time looking for and finding items.it didn't become much

But I eventually succumbed and started making some boards, and I didn't get "lost" in the world Pinterest.

The things I value about Pinterest are the ideas.

I love looking for ideas about new recipes, crafts, decorating ideas.

Pinterest has simplified finding particular kinds of recipes. The search function is great.

For example, last week I had corn tortillas, cheese, peppers, black beans.

Search for Mexican corn tortilla casserole vegan.

Voila! I found a delicious casserole that I could make with all the ingredients needed on hand.

My brother has recently been boasting about this wonderful peanut sauce he makes.

Click, click, Pin It! Now the recipe in on my Recipes I Want To Try board, and I made it tonight for dinner.

One thing that has been a really fun way to use Pinterest is getting ideas for making pottery. I have collected all kinds of ideas, and used many of them in the past few months since I have learned how to create pottery. My friend Rachael also find ideas she may think I would like, and she shares them with me.

Here are a couple of example of items she shared with me, that I later made.

The only thing that disappoints me with the links sometimes. You can't find the item that you pinned.

2/16/15

Since it was Valentine's Day weekend, I gave the sibling assignment with a Valentine's theme:

Think back to celebrating Valentine's Day in Elementary School, and share about any memory or memories you may have from one or more of those celebrations, and how it made you feel.

Here is Bill's post about Hating Valentine's Day here, and Christy has her Loving Valentine's Day blog post here.

My, how Valentine's expectations have changed for me since back in grade school.

For example, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day with my Valentine Paul this year. We drove to Coeur d'Alene and had breakfast at the Garnet Café. Then we came home and took a nap. Then we walked the dogs. The we had dinner at my mom's house with Christy and Everett. Then came home and visited with Coco and her three friends before they headed back to Moscow. Then Paul and I started watching "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" on Netflix, until it got too late, and it was time to head to bed.

Just the fact I got to spend the whole day with Paul made this Valentine's Day very special.

I think I was a little boy crazy back in elementary school, so I probably really analyzed the Valentine's certain boys gave me, and probably read more into it than was actually there.

Apparently me liking boys goes back to at least back to second grade. Recently my mom has been going through old photos, cards and letters, and she found the following letter I wrote to my Auntie Lila when I was in second grade.

I have no recollection of who this "boyfriend" might have been. But it looks like I have written proof that I had one at the young age of seven.

I wonder what kind of Valentine I received from this "boyfriend" of mine?

Looking back on Valentine's Day with Paul, one of my favorite Valentine's memories was one of the first years we were married. We were living in Glendive, Montana, and we traveled to Billings, Montana for the weekend. We each were given $10 to buy the other person some Valentine's gifts in the mall in Billings. That evening, we saw Bobby McFerrin in concert, before he was really famous. What a wonderful concert.

Valentine's used to be about getting cute cards or special candies.

These days, the best Valentine's present I could ask for is what I got this year, spending the whole day with my one and only Valentine Paul.

I guess I'm still boy crazy after all these years.....but the craziness is all for one special boy named Paul!

I lived here from the time I was born, until I moved away to my first job after I graduated from college.

My life's journey took me to Glendive, Montana and Meridian, Idaho. But then that journey returned me back home....to Kellogg, Idaho.

I have lived here, for the second time, for almost 15 years.

This is home. It will always be home. It is also home for my husband, who lived between Kellogg and Meridian his whole life growing up, but claimed Kellogg as the place he always felt was his home.

Kellogg, to me, isn't just a place I live. It is my history as well.

My great- grandparents on my Dad's side came out to settle in Idaho in the early 1900's. My Grandma and Grandpa Woolum followed them out here. My dad was born in Kellogg in 1930. Kellogg was still a pretty new town at that time.

I think my love for Kellogg is in my blood. Dad loved Kellogg. He loved living here, and when he had to move to Spokane with my grandma when he was still in high school, I know he wasn't very happy about it. But after he went to college in Lewiston, he returned to Kellogg and never left.

He was home.

When I grew up in Kellogg, I don't think I thought much about living here when I got older. But after getting married, and moving from place to place, I think Paul and I didn't really have a plan to return to Kellogg, but we just knew we would eventually end up here.

And we did.

My corner of the world has seen a lot of changes over the years. Legend has it that Noah Kellogg's Jackass found an outcropping of galena on the hill that eventually became the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining Company, back in 1885.

This is me portraying Noah Kellogg a few years ago in a local theater production I wrote about some Kellogg history.

There used to be a billboard greeting you when you entered Kellogg that has been resurrected in the past few years that looks like this:

I am not ashamed to be descended by a Jackass.

The landscape of my corner of the world has gone through many changes. Kellogg is in the middle of a valley in the Bitterroot Mountains. The South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River flows through Kellogg.

Now I think of this body of water as a river.

Growing up, it was known as "Lead Creek", because of the mining waste that flowed through it.

Growing up, I didn't not think of it as a river. It was "Lead Creek", a place you didn't go in to.

The mining changed the landscape of this area, causing the hillsides to become bare, and the river to be polluted.

This is a photo of the landscape from 1958.

Here is a photo I took of Kellogg last summer. Things have changed in the last 50 years or so.

Today a friend a graduated from high school with traveled from Kennewick, Washington with her church's youth group to spend the weekend here in Kellogg. She had not been in Kellogg for many years, and commented on how beautiful it was. She also said that, once she arrived, she felt like she was home.

That is not an uncommon feeling for people who lived here.

Through mining booms and busts, EPA clean up, Silver Mountain Ski Resort expansion, and other local changes, my corner of the world has survived.

It is filled with people who do things hard....the like to live hard....they like to party hard.....but most of all....they like to love hard. They are generous to a fault.

And they are my people, here in this corner of the world. And I am proud to be a part of them.

I wouldn't want to live in any other corner of the world right now, but this one nestled in the middle of Idaho's Silver Valley.

After I finished watching the two seasons of "Bones" on Netflix I hadn't seen yet, I wanted to find another series to watch.

I remember seeing the previews for the show "Blue Bloods" on some of the tapes Mom sent over in the past, and thought I would check it out.

I have fallen in love with this show. It is about a family that lives in New York City. Tom Selleck plays the Police Commissioner whose father was also the P.C., and a son who is a detective for the NYPD, and another son you just joined the force after decided he didn't want to be a lawyer after attending Harvard Law School. His daughter works for the District Attorney. And there was another brother who died in the line of duty.

It is a wonderful family dynamic, and I love the story lines each week. It has turned out to be a great show!! I am blessed by some good tv entertainment.

This week my brother Bill gave the Sibling Assignment. Here is our task:Write about yourself as an introvert. You can do with this whatever you want. Discuss what it means, tell about your experience, or anything else.My brother's post is here, and my sister's post is here.I have always been classified as an Extrovert. Here are some attributes of an Extrovert:Extroverts are social beings always on the look out for excitement. They are outgoing and do not hesitate to assert their needs. They are predominantly occupied with activities ‘outside the self’ and crave for human interactions. Extroverts are essentially talkative, sociable and enthusiastic in dealing with people in general. They love to take initiative and plunge into action. They can make friends easily and often adapt to new environments without any problem. Extroverts are open and do not hesitate to share their thoughts with others. It is easier to get to know an extrovert as they do not hesitate to lay bare their feelings and thoughts.I have many of these attributes, and have most of my life.But I have noticed, as I get older, I am becoming more introverted. Here are the attributes of an introvert:Introverts are more concerned with the inner world of the mind. They enjoy thinking, exploring their thoughts and feelings. They often avoid social situations because being around people drains their energy. This is true even if they have good social skills. After being with people for any length of time, such as at a party, they need time alone to "recharge."

I find myself wanting and needed my alone time more. If I don't have this time, my energy becomes depleted. And each social situation does not energize me. It depends on the people with whom I am socializing. If I am with people I'm comfortable with, and enjoy their company, I am energized. If not, it can be very draining. I find if I go for a time without spending time alone to think and contemplate, I lose my energy. So there has definitely been a shift in my life.There was a time when I didn't want to be away from a group of people who were having a conversation for fear I would miss something. That is not as important anymore. In fact, now I often go away and perhaps hide in the kitchen to work to avoid people for a while.I remember taking the Meyers Briggs personality test, and I always came out strong Extrovert. But I would be curious to take it again, and see the results. I believe I would still be an Extrovert, but the result would show me with a higher Introvert rating.It is interesting how your personality and way of interacting with the world can change. I still will walk down the street and say hello to strangers much easier than my very introverted husband. But I do need more time alone to do the things I need to do....to recharge....to evaluate the way I spend my time.In my immediate family, my husband and middle daughter very introverted. My oldest daughter is closer to a split between introvert and extrovert. My youngest daughter and myself are extroverts. Because we all perform people think we must be extroverts. But that is not the case. I have seen my husband play a role and schmooze a room with the best of them, because he was playing a part. But a couple of weeks later, he was a nervous wreck at a graduation party we attended, because he dreaded the small talk and chit chat that he may have to do at that gathering.My brother is an Introvert, and I believe my sister is becoming more introverted, but was probably at one time a stronger Extrovert. I am thankful for my leaning toward more introversion, because I believe it is helping me slow down, and look at things more clearly, and make more thoughtful and though out decisions. I am not always on the go. And I hope I continue to use this alone time to give me energy for the things I want and need to do in my life.